(FLIP/IFEX) – On 25 May 2005, at 3:00 p.m. (local time), there was an attack on the transmission antennas of Latina Estéreo 91.3 F.M. radio station, in Puerto Asís, Putumayo department in southern Colombia. According to information collected by FLIP, unidentified persons splashed gasoline around the area where the antennas, transmission equipment and the generator […]
(FLIP/IFEX) – On 25 May 2005, at 3:00 p.m. (local time), there was an attack on the transmission antennas of Latina Estéreo 91.3 F.M. radio station, in Puerto Asís, Putumayo department in southern Colombia. According to information collected by FLIP, unidentified persons splashed gasoline around the area where the antennas, transmission equipment and the generator are located and set them on fire.
Radio station director Gabriel Morales told FLIP that this was the second attack on the station in 2005, and the third in total. As a result, he added, the station’s coverage has been reduced to 30 percent of normal, with only the more densely populated area of Puerto Asís and some nearby districts still receiving the signal.
Morales also indicated that he sent a letter to the Ministry of Communications requesting permission to move the antennas, given that local authorities say the current location is difficult to reach when protection is needed. So far he has not received any response.
The station’s transmission tower is located 10 minutes outside the town of Puerto Asís, a highly vulnerable location according to the authorities.
The Puerto Asís police commander, Major Mario Camacho Avellaneda, told FLIP that judging by the way it was carried out, the attack on the station’s facilities seems to be sabotage.
On 13 February, there was a similar attack on the station, when the same transmission towers were dynamited, apparently by members of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia, FARC). The radio station was forced off the air for two weeks as a result of the attack (see IFEX alert of 3 March 2005).
FLIP calls upon armed groups to respect the work of the media and notes that attacking media infrastructure violates freedom of the press and of expression, as well as violating citizens’ right to receive information.
